Portrait of Deepali Kundnani

Deepali L. Kundnani

Postdoctoral Researcher, Biomedical AI

University of New Mexico Comprehensive Cancer Center · Ph.D. Bioinformatics, Georgia Tech

Working on biomedical AI

Finding patterns and signals in messy data, through the lens of the experiments that produce it.

0
Publications
0
Citations
0
h-index
0
In projects led

About me

I build interpretable AI models over EHR, genomic, and multi-omics data for cancer risk prediction. I started at the bench: four years of assay development before my first pipeline, which is why I ask how data was made before I ask what it shows.

My Ph.D. at Georgia Tech mapped the roughly one million ribonucleotides embedded in every human nuclear genome and showed they are not randomly placed: they form patterns, the human nuclear ribome, that track with gene activity and can change DNA supercoiling. I led the bioinformatics analyses. The work is published in Cell (Georgia Tech coverage), and earned the Mark Borodovsky Prize, given to the top Ph.D. student in the programme.

At MD Anderson's Hanash Lab I validated protein biomarkers for early cancer detection, including the panel behind this lung cancer risk model.

In between, I led frontier-AI evaluation at Turing, building STEM expert teams from scratch and designing the rubrics and failure-mode taxonomies used to probe LLM reasoning.

Career highlights

Research interests

Awards and leadership

Awards

  • 2024 Student Government Association Conference AwardGeorgia Institute of Technology
  • 2023–24 Bio-IT World Conference Registration FundsCombinatics Inc.
  • 2023 Mark Borodovsky Prize for Excellence in BioinformaticsGeorgia Institute of Technology
  • 2021 US National Science Foundation Conference Award26th Annual Meeting of the RNA Society
  • 2019 Performance Excellence AwardUT MD Anderson Cancer Center
  • 2014–15 Jones NAS Biological Sciences ScholarshipUniversity of Houston – Clear Lake
  • 2010 Third Prize, National Technical Paper PresentationIEEE, India
  • 2008 Top Student Honour, National Standard ExaminationTop 10% nationally, India

Leadership and service

  • 2022–25 SKY at Georgia Tech: President, then AdvisorRaised >$20,000; well-being programmes reaching 1,000+ students.
  • 2021–24 Research mentor, 5 B.S./M.S. bioinformatics studentsNow at Mayo Clinic, Penn State, Moderna, and UT Southwestern.
  • 2022–24 Founding committee member, MBM Cancer Talk SeriesGeorgia Tech's molecular biomedical seminar series.
  • 2021 Grant writing, Storici LabContributed to a $1M award from the W. M. Keck Foundation.
  • 2023 Emerging Leaders Advisory BoardAdvised Georgia Tech's VP of Student Engagement.
  • 2020–22 Asha for Education, Atlanta: SecretaryRan a half marathon raising funds for children's education in India.

Journey

Postdoctoral Researcher Current

Apr 2026 – Present

University of New Mexico Comprehensive Cancer Center · Albuquerque, NM

  • Developing interpretable AI/ML models integrating EHR, genomics, and multi-omics data for cancer risk prediction.
  • Building longitudinal EHR phenotypes, linking clinical variables with large-scale genomic cohorts.
  • Contributing to foundation-model research for variant interpretation and tumour genome classification.
  • Collaborating across clinical oncology, statistical genetics, and genetic counselling.

AI Strategic Project Advisor, STEM Research

Apr – Jul 2026

Turing · Remote

  • Advised a high-priority programme spanning 200+ subject matter experts, tied to $1M+ revenue.
  • Consulted on delivery planning and execution of custom dataset generation for frontier LLM clients.
  • Oversaw hiring, onboarding, and weekly targets to hold quality and sign-off timelines.

AI Evaluation Team Lead, STEM Scientific Coding

Dec 2025 – Mar 2026

Turing · Remote

  • Led and trained teams of 10–30 SMEs across bioinformatics, computer science, and machine learning.
  • Built a cross-domain STEM expert team from scratch across physics, chemistry, maths, biology, and scientific coding.
  • Designed rubrics, failure-mode taxonomies, SOPs, QA systems, and SME calibration workflows.
  • Contributed to proofs-of-concept, pilots, and large-scale multimodal HLE data generation.
  • Built reviewer guidelines, trainer materials, unit-testing protocols, and single-ground-truth factor analysis.

Bioinformatics Subject Matter Expert & Reviewer

Nov 2025

Turing · Remote

  • Analysed LLM transcripts to identify model breakage patterns in bioinformatics reasoning.
Aug 2019 – Jul 2025

Ph.D. in Bioinformatics Degree

Aug 2019 – Jul 2025

Georgia Institute of Technology · Atlanta, GA

  • Minor in Machine Learning · GPA 4.00 / 4.00.
  • Thesis: distribution and features of ribomes, the genome-wide embedment of ribonucleotides in eukaryotic genomes.
  • Mark Borodovsky Prize for Excellence in Bioinformatics.

Graduate Research and Teaching Assistant

Aug 2019 – Jul 2025

Georgia Institute of Technology, Storici Lab · Atlanta, GA

  • Storici Lab · Aug 2020 – Jul 2025
  • Led research on a novel epigenetic layer in the human genome, analysing multi-omics data to uncover regulatory roles.
  • Published novel sequence motifs in a neuro-immune genetic disorder tied to DNA replication and repair.
  • Analysed enzyme expression and copy number across CCLE and TCGA in 33+ cancer types, producing an R package for multi-omics integration.
  • Contributed the preliminary analysis behind a $1M grant.
  • Conceptualised ribose-seq normalisation and ribonucleotide enriched zones (REZ).
  • New data-cleaning protocols for ribose-seq NGS libraries, doubling pattern-recognition accuracy.
  • Co-founded the Molecular BioMedical (MBM) Cancer student committee.
  • Mentored 4+ early-career bioinformaticians; trained 15+ students in Linux, Python, and R.
  • Presented at 8+ national and international conferences.
  • Rotational student · Aug 2019 – Jul 2020
  • Identified differentially methylated regions in 900+ HIV+ patients (Yale VACS); modelled survival with kNN and SVM.
  • Led genome assembly and comparative genomics teams tracing foodborne outbreak sources from CDC data.
  • Differential expression and pathway analysis in lung cancer lines across wild-type and multiple p53 mutants.
  • Lectured and graded courses for 20–250 students.

Research Assistant II

Oct 2015 – Jul 2019

MD Anderson Cancer Center, Hanash Lab · Houston, TX

  • Optimised and validated immunoassays for lung, pancreatic, colon, and ovarian cancer biomarkers.
  • Developed auto-antibody assays targeting alternative-splicing products and exosomes.
  • Processed patient blood in a CLIA-certified lab for double-blind early lung and breast cancer trials.
  • Batch normalisation and missing-data handling for cohorts of 300–7,000+ samples.
  • Validated novel protein markers in epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT).
  • Managed large-scale DNA vaccine production and in-house antigen/antibody production.
  • Integrated genomic and transcriptomic data with in-house mass spectrometry.
Aug 2013 – May 2015

M.S. Molecular Biotechnology Degree

Aug 2013 – May 2015

University of Houston – Clear Lake · Houston, TX

  • GPA 3.88 / 4.00 · Jones NAS merit scholarship.
  • Independent research: yeast two-hybrid screen of an asthma-patient lung cDNA library for iNOS interactions.
  • Capstone: high-yield monoclonal antibody production in CHO cells.

Laboratory Intern

Jan – May 2015

AnshLabs · Houston, TX

  • Led production of highly sensitive antigens in mammalian cell lines under GMP guidelines; supported ISO and FDA audits.
  • Screened, purified, and QC’d monoclonal antibodies from hybridoma clones for commercial ovarian cancer ELISA kits.

Graduate Teaching Assistant

Sep – Dec 2014

University of Houston – Clear Lake · Houston, TX

  • Liaison between students and faculty on applied biotechnology projects and course queries.
  • Trained teaching assistants to set up basic and advanced molecular biology labs.

Research and Teaching Assistant

Sep 2012 – Jul 2013

Usha Biotech Ltd. · Hyderabad, India

  • Tested proprietary vectors including the patented CELL EXPRESS-100™, using an eGFP reporter for stable antibody expression in CHO-K1 cells.
  • Molecular cloning of custom plasmid vectors and transfection optimisation supporting a patent filing.
  • Selected transfected pools and clones by fluorescence-activated cell sorting.
  • Trained students in mammalian cell culture.
Aug 2008 – May 2012

B.E. Biotechnology Degree

Aug 2008 – May 2012

Thadomal Shahani Engineering College · University of Mumbai, India

  • Third Prize, IEEE national technical paper presentation.
  • Thesis: stem cell therapy and wound care for diabetic foot complications.

Trainee

May 2011 – Apr 2012

S. L. Raheja Hospital (a Fortis Associate) · Mumbai, India

  • Reviewed literature and monitored clinical study and toxicology reports on stem cell therapy for diabetic foot complications.
  • Screened patients against inclusion criteria and supported biochemical testing.
  • Developed statistical standards for treatment efficacy from wound-closure measurements.

Conferences and talks

Conference presentations

  • 2024 TalkAicardi-Goutières syndrome: an RNase H2C mutation mimics the ribonucleotide patterns of an RNase H2B PIP-box mutation Georgia Tech School of Biological Sciences retreat · Full funding
  • 2024 TalkAicardi-Goutières syndrome: RNase H2C mutation mimics RNase H2B PIP-box patterns FASEB Conference, Florida · Travel funding
  • 2024 Talk & posterAicardi-Goutières syndrome: RNase H2C mutation mimics RNase H2B PIP-box patterns MCBIOS Conference, Georgia · Full funding
  • 2024 PosterAicardi-Goutières syndrome: RNase H2C mutation mimics RNase H2B PIP-box patterns Bio-IT World Conference & Expo, Boston · Funded by Combinatics Inc.
  • 2024 Expo consultantCellKb: cell-type markers for annotation and discovery in scRNA-seq datasets Bio-IT World Conference & Expo, Boston · For Combinatics Inc.
  • 2023 Expo consultantCellKb: cell-type markers for annotation and discovery in scRNA-seq datasets Bio-IT World Conference & Expo, Boston · For Combinatics Inc.
  • 2023 PosterRibonucleotide incorporation in AGS-orthologous mutants of yeast RNase H2 subunits Bio-IT World Conference & Expo, Boston · Funded by Combinatics Inc.
  • 2022 TalkEffect of AGS-orthologous mutations on ribonucleotide incorporation in S. cerevisiae RNASEH Conference, Maryland
  • 2022 TalkExpression correlation of RNASEH2A in cancer datasets Global Virtual Congress on Cancer Research & Drug Development
  • 2021 PosterExpression correlation and copy number alteration prevalence of human RNASEH2A in cancer 26th Annual Meeting of the RNA Society · NSF Conference Award
  • 2011 TalkGenetic algorithms IEEE-EMBS National Technical Paper Presentation, Mumbai · Third Prize
  • 2009 TalkWater purification systems BIOZEAL, Mumbai

Invited talks and lectures

  • 2025 Bioinformatics, Ribose-Map, and the PACE cloud computing serverResearch Project Laboratory (BIOL-4590), Georgia Tech
  • 2024 Distribution of ribonucleotides embedded in the nuclear genome of multiple human cell typesMBM Seminar Series, Georgia Tech
  • 2024 Distinct features of ribonucleotides in AGS-ortholog mutants in yeastMBM Seminar Series, Georgia Tech
  • 2023 The role of RNA in DNA repair and modificationRNA Biology and Biotechnology (BIOL-4560/8560), Georgia Tech
  • 2023 Bioinformatics and an introduction to the Ribose-Map toolkitResearch Project Laboratory (BIOL-4590), Georgia Tech
  • 2020 Data preprocessing and dimensionality reduction in biomedical and clinical settingsBiostatistics (APPH-6225), Georgia Tech
  • 2019 DNA sequencing and phylogenetic analysisGenetics Lab (BIOL-2345), Georgia Tech
  • 2010 Time managementManagement course, University of Mumbai

Featured projects

Ribonucleotides in the human genome

Ribonucleotides in the human genome

rNMPs cluster near CpG islands and track with expression and methylation at transcription start sites.

Aicardi-Goutieres syndrome mutants

Aicardi-Goutières syndrome mutants

One mutation floods the genome with rNMPs. The other moves where they land. Only one is visible to a count.

RNASEH2A across 35+ cancers

RNASEH2A across 35+ cancers

Expression correlation with proliferation and cell-cycle markers across CCLE and TCGA.

Full portfolio

Blog

Genomics, research practice, and the occasional detour.

All posts

Skills

Languages & tools

  • Python
  • R
  • SQL
  • C++
  • Java
  • Bash
  • Git
  • Snakemake

AI & machine learning

  • PyTorch
  • Interpretable ML
  • Foundation models
  • LLM evaluation
  • Variational autoencoders
  • scanpy
  • Survival analysis (kNN, SVM)
  • Deep learning

Sequencing analysis

  • Next-generation sequencing
  • Long-read sequencing
  • ribose-seq
  • Single-cell RNA-seq
  • Genome assembly
  • Comparative genomics

Data & infrastructure

  • Multi-omics integration
  • EHR phenotyping
  • High-performance computing
  • Cloud computing (AWS)
  • Batch normalisation
  • Data visualisation

Laboratory

  • Multiplex immunoassays
  • Molecular cloning
  • Mammalian cell culture
  • ELISA development
  • FACS
  • CLIA/FDA-compliant SOPs

Certifications

  • AWS Generative AI (2025)
  • SQL for Data Science
  • CLIA, MD Anderson (2018)
  • R Programming, Coursera (2017)
  • Data Scientist Toolbox (2016)
  • ISO 9001:2008 (2015)

Publications

Every peer-reviewed paper, newest first.

Google Scholar

Contact

Questions, collaborations, or just to say hello.

Prefer a document? View my CV, generated from this site and downloadable as a PDF.